Re: how tire size affects tire wear

["Joao T. da Costa" <jcosta@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:24 AM -0400 07/06/01, Nicolas.Roman@domain.elided wrote:
>At 10:06 AM 6/7/01 -0300, Joao T. da Costa wrote:
>>The contact patch is larger--otherwise there would be no advantage to
>>wider tires.
>
>Hhmmm... isn't the contact patch of a 17 inch 245 series tire the same as
>the contact patch of a 18 inch 245 series tire?
>
>NO IT IS NOT THE SAME... AN 18" HAS A LARGER CIRCUMFERENCE AND THEREFORE
>THE CONTACT PATCH WILL BE
>LARGER IN THE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION....


I was thinking in terms of plus 1 comparisons (i.e. roughly equal 
circumference).

>
>>I would suppose that, generally speaking, lower profiles tend to go hand
>>in hand with softer compounds.
>
>Makes sense to me.
>
>WHY...? TIRES HAVE A RATING FOR THAT PURPOSE....

It makes sense from a marketing/usage point of view. Wider tires=more 
grip, softer compounds=more grip.
I'm not saying that this is always the case, just that logically they 
should go together...

Joao


- -- 
Joao T. da Costa
Sao Paulo, Brazil
'97 E36/5 318ti
'89 E30 M3

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